Joyce Goldstein

Here, dried currants, walnuts, and matzo meal combine to make a rich, savory stuffing for the Passover roast chicken. (The same amount of stuffing can be used for two 3-pound birds.) The recipe is based on one from the Greek community of Ioannina as transcribed​ by Nicholas Stavroulakis in his wonderful Cookbook of the Jews of Greece.

Garbanzos con espinacas
Native to Iran, chickpeas were introduced in the eastern Mediterranean by the Greeks and Romans, but most scholars believe the Carthaginians carried chickpea seeds to Spain. Spinach arrived with the Moors. This classic pairing, from the kitchens of New Castile, began as a Lenten dish. In time, the combination was rounded out with the addition of salt cod and became an everyday dish, with the faithful sacrificing the salt cod during Lent. Today, the salt cod is sometimes replaced with a ham hock during the cooking of the beans and/or diced cooked ham to the finished dish. (If you opt to include the salt cod, be sure to omit the ham hock.) The stew is enriched with a picada of fried bread and garlic and is fairly thick and substantial. It may even be topped by fried or hard-boiled eggs.

Merluza en salsa de piñones
Many Spanish fish dishes call for sauces made with almonds, hazelnuts, or pine nuts, sometimes in combination with tomatoes and saffron. While hake or monkfish is traditionally used for this Catalan dish, you can substitute cod, sea bass, flounder, or another firm white fish.

Pollo al ajillo
Here is another popular al ajillo preparation. I use chicken thighs for this dish because they remain juicier and are more flavorful than breasts, but chicken wings also work well. If you like a little heat, add a pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper with the sherry.

The Abruzzese of Italy love hot peppers and delight in food that has a bit of a kick. In this rich pork stew, called spezzantino dimaiale alla'abruzzese, red bell peppers add sweetness and balance the heat. Some versions of this recipe use chopped rosemary instead of fennel seed.

(Risotto con Regagli)
The thrifty Italian Jewish cook wasted no part of the chicken. And it's easy for us to buy inexpensive giblets for this rich and delectable risotto. Donatella Pavoncello, in her delightful Dal 1880 ad oggi: la cucina dalla mia famiglia, cooks the rice in the giblet sauce and spoons some reserved sauce on top. I find it's easier to make the sauce, cook the rice, and then combine the two. That way you don't run the risk of gummy overcooked rice. Incidentally, this sauce is also wonderful tossed with pappardelle.

(Mele Cotogne in Giulebbe)
Poached quinces in a clove-and-cinnamon-scented syrup are served at Rosh Hashanah and to break the fast at Yom Kippur. In this version, the quinces are left unpeeled for the preliminary cooking in water, and then peeled and cooked in syrup. In La cucina livornese, Pia Bedarida recommends peeling the quinces, letting them rest to take on a reddish brown color as they oxidize, and then cooking them in syrup. Other cooks peel the quinces and cook them immediately, but suggest saving the peels and seeds and cooking them along with the sliced quinces. Still another recipe uses wine instead of water.

(Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine)
Spinach with pine nuts and raisins is a classic Sephardic dish that appears on tables in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy, where it is a staple on Venetian and Genoese menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to delicate fish or poultry dishes and is often served at room temperature.

(Stufadin di Zuca Zala)
As many Ashkenazic Jews emigrated to the Veneto, it's not surprising to find a Venetian recipe for a stew reminiscent of the familiar Ashkenazic tsimmes, in which sweet potatoes or squash are paired with meat for a savory one-dish meal. In Mantua, a similar dish made with a beef rump roast is called brasato Rachele. Despite the use of the squash and Marsala, the stufadin is not overly sweet.

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero)
Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger, but since fresh ginger is so plentiful at our markets, why not use it?